Groundbreaking Insights for Longer, Healthier Lives
In 1998, Washington University in St. Louis’s internationally known School of Medicine teamed with Reinsurance
Group of America, Incorporated, one of the world’s leading life reinsurers, to create The Longer Life Foundation, an
innovative partnership supporting independent research by medical and public health experts to improve long-term
mortality prediction and promote longer, healthier lives.
Over the 17 years since LLF’s founding approximately US$4.7 million has been granted, supporting a broad range of
academic activities, including lectures, seminars and forums, as well as 92 groundbreaking research projects that have
led to advancements in:
LongevityMortality
Morbidity
Obesity
Diabetes
Caloric Restriction
Public Health
GenomicsOlder-Age CognitionCardiac DiseaseCancers
Comorbidity These advances have thus far yielded more than 100 publications in peer-reviewed medical journals.
LLF’s ongoing support has seeded remarkable growth in the number of Washington University in St. Louis academicians and scientists now engaged in important research into longevity and health.
LLF also funds the Longevity Research Program, which is engaged in collaborative research into the
physiological effects of caloric restriction (CR) and its outcomes for aging and longevity.
Please visit www.longerlife.org
Follow us on
@LongerLifeOrg
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2015 – 2016 Grants
John Holloszy, M.D., Director, and Luigi Fontana, M.D.
Ph.D., Associate Director, Longevity Research Program
Long-Term Health Benefits of Caloric Restriction: Does
Intermittent Fasting Mimic the Anti-Aging and Health Benefits
of Calorie Restriction in Humans? (second year)
Stephen Oh, M.D. Ph.D.
Functional Dissection of Age-Related Differences in
Disease Phenotype in Polycythemia Vera
Jason D. Weber, Ph.D.
Using Anti-Viral Biomarkers to Predict Breast Cancer
Aggressiveness
Jun Yoshino, M.D. Ph.D.
Identification of Novel Blood Biomarkers and Mediators of
Obesity-Induced Insulin Resistance
Zachary Pincus, Ph.D.
Early-Adulthood Predictors of Mortality and Morbidity
Jean E. Schaffer, M.D.
snoRNAs and Long-Term Risk of Diabetic Complications
(second year)
Matt Ciorba, M.D.
A Randomized Control Trial of the Probiotic LGG for
Prevention of Side Effects in Patients Undergoing
Chemoradiation for Gastrointestinal Cancer (second
year – first year 2012)
Adrianus Boon, Ph.D.
Identification of Human Genetic Variants for High Risk of
Severe Influenza Disease
Past / Ongoing Research
Longevity: Slowing the degenerative effects of human aging.
Caloric Restriction (CR): Determining CR’s impact on human health, longevity, and morbidity.
Obesity: Efficacy of Internet-delivered weight loss programs for children/adolescents; biomarkers of obesity-associated
metabolic disease.
Coronary Heart Disease (CHD): Development of novel echocardiographic markers as diagnostic tool.
Cognition: Early detection tools for cognitive dysfunction and dementia; physical activity’s role in cognitive maintenance.
Genomics: Improving understanding and prognoses of genetic diseases and enabling genetically tailored treatments.
Cancer: New tumor markers for early kidney and cervical cancer detection; better ways to prognosticate breast cancer.
Public Health: Assessing the effects of dietary high-fructose corn syrup on people with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Comorbidities: Examining how multiple medical conditions interact and impact disease prognosis.
Infectious Disease: Studies to determine prognosis of patients with urinary tract infections.
For information on these and other LLF-funded studies, visit www.longerlife.org
Please consider participating in LLF’s mission!